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In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking.
Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, Stand up on your feet! At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. Acts 14:8-10
Faith or obedience, which comes first and what is the significance of the order? Obedience to what? Faith in what or whom? The combination of the two describe our daily walk with God.
The passage tells of Paul preaching in Lystra along with Barnabas, we are not told how long or the number of days this has been. There seated in the marketplace was a man who had been lame from his birth, who had never walked. He heard what Paul said, and believed what Paul declared about the power of Jesus, the mighty Son of God. Paul looked at him and saw in that man’s eyes the faith to believe. Suddenly he said to him, Stand up on your feet. And the lame man, though he had never walked in his life, made the effort to obey. He had faith enough to try, and the moment he began to obey, the power to obey was given.
I believe this is exactly the way the Christian life works. It does not make any difference whether the problem is physical, emotional, or spiritual; it does not matter who puts there and for how long, you are going to be held in its bondage until you begin to obey the Word of God about it. When you make the effort to obey, God will set you free. But he will never move until you obey. That is the way faith works. Most people are kept from seeing God at work in their lives because they keep waiting for God to do something, in order for them to believe. No, God has already done all that he is going to do in the realm of the spirit. When you believe what he says, then he will give you the power to be free.
Obedience is the fruit of ones decisions. It makes way for the miraculous. When Joshua was faced with an impassible barrier, the floodwaters of the Jordan River receded only after the leaders stepped into the rushing current in obedience and faith. Obedience unlocks God’s power. The Bible says Jesus Christ learnt obedience by the things He went through, no wonder, everything answer unto Him. As you go through the Christian race, learn obedience. Once you learn obedience, your life becomes easier.
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